Quick Facts About Electric Car Buying in 2025
- Before you shop, check qualifications for dealership instant tax rebates of up to $7,500 off the price of the vehicle.
- Check the miles of range of the car you like to ensure it would work for your needs.
- Electric car prices continue to decline for various reasons, including abundant supply.
Did you decide the time is right to put an electric vehicle (EV) on your new car shopping list, but you’re confused about where to start your search? Don’t worry. There is a lot to review when switching to an EV, and this guide is here to help prioritize what to consider in your purchase.
Your checklist likely includes having as much driving range as possible, an affordable base price, and plenty of passenger and cargo space for your daily driving tasks. We’ve broken electric car shopping advice into manageable bites to make the experience something that will leave you feeling charged about your new electric car purchase.
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Know Your Budget
Unless you’ve hit the lottery jackpot, you’ll want to start your electric car shopping with a realistic budget range in mind. There are plenty of models on the less expensive side of the spectrum. For example, the 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 begins at $43,975, the 2024 Kia EV6 starts at $43,995, the 2024 Volkswagen ID.4 begins at $41,160, and the starting price for the 2025 Kia Niro EV is $40,995. Chevrolet’s 2024 Equinox EV starts at $43,295, and the 2025 Hyundai Kona Electric ($34,325) opens in the under-$40,000 range. Shoppers wanting to keep the price as low as possible can turn their attention to the 2025 Nissan Leaf, which has a starting price below $30,000.
At the upper end of the market, models like the Mercedes-Benz EQS 450+ and Lucid Air luxury sedans can exceed 6-figure starting prices. Those vehicles also have impressive performance stats to shame many of the best sports cars.
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Check for EV Incentives
If the price of an EV seems out of reach, look for tax breaks. Select electric cars come with federal tax credits, state rebates, and local incentives for qualified buyers that help to lower the purchase price and make recharging less expensive. For example, your utility company might have deals for home charging stations and low-cost, off-peak electricity plans for overnight charging.
Federal tax credits for new electric vehicles allow consumers shopping at dealerships to get $7,500 in instant rebates on select electric cars and plug-in hybrids that meet government qualifications. The federal government continues to update the list of qualifying vehicles. Remember that potential tax credit eligibility involves many factors, including your adjusted gross income, the EV’s price, where it’s assembled, and where battery components come from.
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Many electric vehicle manufacturers also include handy extras like free EV charging at a preferred charging network for a specific period or up to a certain amount of energy. For example, the 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 compact SUV offers a $400 out-of-home charging credit on the ChargePoint network or a Level 2 home charger.
Ask the dealership if the electric car you’re considering has similar charging discounts or special rates to join networks such as Electrify America, ChargePoint, and EVgo.
How Much Electric Car Range Do You Need?
There’s a lot of talk and some anxiety regarding EV range. Make an honest assessment of how much range you really need for your daily driving.
Longest EV Ranges By Year
Most new electric cars today provide a minimum of 200 miles of driving range for every charge. Many of the most popular EVs crack the 300-mile barrier. Some models with higher price tags surpass 400 miles with a fully charged battery. The Tesla Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover SUV are among the best-selling EVs. The Model 3 offers a range of 272 to 342 miles, depending on trim, while the Model Y spans from 277 miles to 337. The Model S surpasses them with estimated ranges of 396 to 405 miles.
The 2025 Lucid Air Grand Touring is the current king of electric car range. The luxury EV has a maximum range of 512 miles. That impressive figure is tempered by the Air Grand Touring’s hefty starting price of more than $111,000. Remember when we discussed your electric car budgets earlier? More range and bigger battery packs often cost extra money.
There are options if you don’t need the long legs and luxury trimmings of a vehicle like the Lucid Air. Far more mainstream models like the Nissan Leaf and Kia Niro EV deliver an estimated 212 and 253 miles of charge, respectively, and cost a fraction of the price. That’s plenty of range for many drivers who don’t have long daily commutes.
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Research All Your Charging Options
Recharging your electric car is more than connecting a plug and outlet. There are different types of chargers — Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3 — with vastly different rates of charge times. Level 3 is also known as DC fast charging, though not all EVs have the capability to receive the high output from some stations.
- If you need an electric car that will stay on the road for long stretches away from home, consider limiting your search to EVs with acceptance rates higher than 50 kilowatts. Higher acceptance rates and higher output from some Level 3 DC fast chargers mean you’ll spend less time charging on road trips. You might want to limit your search to electric cars capable of using DC fast-charging stations. Generally speaking, these chargers can feed about 80% of a battery’s capacity in roughly 30 minutes or less. Charging time depends on many factors, including the output of the charging station and limitations on how much energy the EV can receive.
- A Level 2 charger is more common, though it doesn’t offer the speed of fast charge technology. Budget about 20 miles of added range for every hour plugged into a Level 2 charging station. Level 2 chargers can also be installed in homes, where most EV owners juice up.
- If you’re in no hurry to get back on the road, plugging an EV into a regular 110-volt outlet could take up to 24 hours or longer to fully charge the battery. You won’t have to rely on this degree of Level 1 charging unless absolutely necessary. Some owners who use their EVs for short trips around town find Level 1 charging is adequate for replenishing the car’s battery overnight at home.
Regarding pricing, the cost to charge an EV depends on where and when you’re recharging. Some public stations might be free to use at shopping centers or other establishments. Others may offer free charging for a set period or during specific times of the day. Be sure to read the fine print before plugging in for the first time, as parking your EV at a station might incur regular parking rates applied in that lot or penalties if you exceed a permissible charging time. Also, be aware that charging during peak times may incur a surcharge.
Regarding general pricing to recharge at home, a U.S. household typically pays nearly 17 cents for every kilowatt-hour of electricity. Electric cars often get about three to four miles of range for every kWh. As you’d expect, public stations operated by charging networks typically cost more.
Are There Charging Stations Where You Live?
If you don’t charge at home, check for a reliable charging network nearby to keep your electric car on the road. That might sound like obvious advice. However, it’s worth pointing out even the best EV could turn into a 4-wheeled paperweight if you can’t plug it in. It’s best to have a backup plan when you’re away from home and concerned a specific charging station might not be available.
A home charging station makes a lot of sense and is a smart investment. Check to see if there are any charging incentives in your region or if your workplace has chargers available for employees. We suggest downloading apps like Electrify America, ChargePoint, and PlugShare, particularly if you’ll be driving in unfamiliar surroundings and know you’ll need to rely on public charging stations.
Apps for public chargers have filters that allow you to zero in on specific outlets suitable for your car, along with current rates for charging at a given location and whether the station is in good operating order. The last thing you want is to pull into a station with little battery charge only to discover the charger isn’t functioning or is equipped with connectors not suitable for your car.
Meanwhile, additional electric carmakers and charging networks have started to or plan to adapt Tesla’s expansive Supercharger network and its proprietary North American Charging Standard (NACS) charge port, with many debuting them for the 2025 model year.
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EV Maintenance
Electric cars don’t just save you money by never requiring a single drop of gasoline or an oil change. They also cost less to maintain than a vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine (ICE). That’s because there are fewer moving parts in the powertrain of an electric car.
The mechanical recipe of an electric car is pretty much the automotive equivalent of a bowl of cereal. There’s a minimum of one electric motor, a battery pack, and a single-speed transmission that sends power to the wheels. Depending on your chosen make and model, EVs come in front-, rear-, and all-wheel drive (AWD) configurations.
EVs do require maintenance at some point. Tires, brake pads, suspension components, and other items will need attention. Yet, minus the churning pistons of a traditional gas-fed engine, electric motors have fewer moving parts that could go wrong and require an expensive fix.
Battery packs and electric motors eventually need replacement, though this shouldn’t be necessary for at least 10 or more years, depending on your driving and charging habits.
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Will you be spending your electric driving time solo, or do you plan on shuttling a full complement of friends and family? Just as you would when considering a vehicle with an ICE, one of the biggest considerations with EV shopping is how much space you need for passengers and cargo.
Thankfully, electric vehicles are available in various shapes and sizes. Models like the Rivian R1S sport utility and Ford F-150 Lightning pickup have cabins with loads of stretch-out space and room for just about anything you want to bring along for the ride.
Several 7-passenger EVs are available for large families or those with frequent carpool duty. The Volvo EX90, Kia EV9, and Volkswagen ID. Buzz are EVs to consider if five seats just aren’t enough for you.
On the other hand, make sure you don’t pay for more electric car than you need. If you want a simple means of getting from Point A to Point B and something small enough to make curbside parking a breeze, models like the Nissan Leaf or Chevrolet Bolt could be a much better fit.
Should You Wait to Buy an Electric Car?
Consumers bought about 1.3 million EVs in the U.S. in 2024. If you’re hesitating because you’re not sure an electric car meets your budget or needs, then take some time and do more research to find the best EV at the best price. The average new electric car transaction price is above $56,000. That’s out of reach for many buyers. However, the supply of lower-priced models is plentiful and manufacturer incentives. Plus, many shoppers buying eligible cars can take advantage of the $7,500 tax credit — at least for now.
Automakers are rolling out more EVs with every model year, bringing a wider variety of electric models, ranging from small sedans and hatchbacks to full-size trucks and SUVs with three rows of seating. New battery technology expanding EV range may also make waiting a better idea, especially if you need a car that can do more than commute.
Whatever you decide, don’t be afraid to test drive a variety of makes and models, too. As with any car search, getting behind the wheel and experiencing a vehicle firsthand can help seal the deal or make you realize it isn’t the car for you. Some buyers prefer to rent an electric car before buying to determine its viability with their lifestyle.
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated since its initial publication.